By the Numbers: Breaking Down Virginia's Win Over Pittsburgh

Matt Newton | Nov 10, 2024

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Virginia football snapped a three-game losing streak and got back in the win column with a potentially season-saving 24-19 upset win at No. 18 Pittsburgh on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. It was just the second victory for the Cavaliers on the road at Pittsburgh in seven attempts and only the third time UVA has beaten Pitt since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013.

Virginia is now 4-0 under Tony Elliott in games immediately following the bye week. The Cavaliers beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta after a bye in 2022, picked up the program's first-ever road win over a top 10 opponent at North Carolina after a bye in 2023, and posted a 24-14 victory over Boston College following a bye week earlier this season. UVA is 2-2 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 under Tony Elliott (Pitt was ranked No. 23 in this week's AP poll and No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings).

Virginia is 3-1 on the road this season, the team's most road victories in a single season since 2021. The Cavaliers are also 3-1 in night games, having posted victories over Richmond and Wake Forest and falling to Maryland. UVA is now 3-2 this season when trailing at halftime.

With a 5-4 overall record and a 3-3 ACC record, Virginia has its first five-win season and first three-win ACC campaign since the 2021 season.

See the chart below for a breakdown of the stats from Virginia's big win at Pittsburgh:

Virginia	By the Numbers	Pittsburgh
340	Total Offense	292
170	Rushing Offense	127
3.8	Yards Per Rush	4.0
170	Passing Offense	165
68%	Completion %	40%
10.0	Yards Per Completion	11.8
3/3	Red Zone Attempts	2/2
17	Red Zone Points	13
4/14	3rd Downs	4/13
1/1	4th Downs	0/0
35:17	Possession Time	24:43
6-80	Penalties-Yards	11-75
2	Turnovers	2
3	Sacks	6
8	Tackles for a Loss	8
6	Big Plays (20+ Yards)	4

Here are some key individual stats from Virginia vs. Pittsburgh along with some more notes:

Xavier Brown racked up 68 rushing yards on 15 carries and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and second rushing score of his career. He also caught two passes for 28 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown reception that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.

Brown's one-yard rushing touchdown was set up by a trick play that saw Suderian Harrison complete a 27-yard pass to Anthony Colandrea, marking the first reception by a UVA quarterback since Brennan Armstrong did so against Illinois in 2021. Colandrea completed 16 of 24 passing attempts for 143 yards and had one touchdown and two interceptions and he also rushed for 40 yards and had the 27-yard catch.

Chris Tyree led UVA in receiving with four catches for 42 yards, including a clutch 25-yard reception on 3rd and 15 that allowed Virginia's critical eight-minute scoring drive in the fourth quarter to continue. Malachi Fields was held to just two catches for 11 yards, but he extended his streak of games with at least one reception to 23 games, passed Heath Miller for 11th on Virginia's all-time receiving yards list with 1,706 career yards, and is just one catch shy of making it into the top 15 at UVA in career receptions.

Corey Thomas Jr., a native of Pittsburgh, made the game-sealing play as he intercepted Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell with just one minute and 40 seconds remaining. The pick was Thomas Jr.'s first interception in a UVA uniform and his first since the 2019 season, his freshman year at Akron.

Jonas Sanker recorded five tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, and blocked a field goal in the third quarter, Virginia's first blocked field goal since the 2021 season opener against William & Mary.

Terrell Jones registered his first career start at defensive end and posted a career-high six tackles, four of which were unassisted, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Daniel Sparks delivered a 66-yard punt in the third quarter, giving him 15 career punts of at least 60 yards with 13 of those coming at Virginia.

Will Bettridge made a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and was a perfect 3/3 on extra points. With 190 career points, Bettridge cracked UVA's top 15 all-time career points list by passing Bill Dudley (188 points) for 15th place.

Up next, Virginia will face another ranked opponent on the road as the Cavaliers take on No. 10 Notre Dame in South Bend next Saturday, November 16th. Kickoff from Notre Dame Stadium is set for 3:30pm on NBC.

More Virginia Football News

Five Takeaways from Virginia Football's 24-19 Upset over Pittsburgh

Virginia vs. Pittsburgh Live Updates | NCAA Football

Virginia Football Claws Back to Upset Pittsburgh on the Road 24-19